Skip to my stardom

"Skip to My Lou" skipped to his NBA Finals stardom last night in the Orglando Magic's four-point win over the L.A. Lakers.

After Rafer Alston was forced to sit the bench half of each of the first two games (both losses), Stan Van Gundy finally decided to leave Alston on the floor, and sit Jameer Nelson. Coming off a labrum injury, Nelson returned for the Finals and played almost as many minutes as Alston, the guy who led the Magic to its playoff run.

The result was lots of missed shots by the two point guards in the first couple games, and a lack of productivity. But Alston, the former Fresno State point guard, was more aggressive with the ball Tuesday night, finishing with 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting as the Magic set a new NBA Finals record with 62.5% shooting.